AG: Ex-agent has history of sex misconduct

Published 7:00 pm, Friday, August 5, 2011

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AG: Ex-agent has history of sex misconduct

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BASTROP — A former liquor control agent accused of sexually assaulting a teenager recruited for an underage drinking sting had a history of sexual misconduct with teens, and he was hired to enforce Texas liquor laws despite being fired from a police department for drunkenness, prosecutors allege in a new court filing.

Joe Chavez, 42, is scheduled to go on trial Monday in Bastrop, about 30 miles southeast of Austin, on two counts of sexual assault of a child stemming from a 2009 incident with a 16-year-old girl. The teen alleges she had sex with Chavez in his state-issued vehicle after participating in a Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission sting aimed at catching businesses serving alcohol to minors.

The charges focus only on that incident, but court documents filed by the Texas Attorney General’s Office appear to be questioning whether Chavez was fit to work for the liquor-policing agency and oversee teenagers employed for stings. The allegations are outlined in what’s known as a notice of intent to introduce evidence of other offenses.

Chavez’s attorney, E.G. “Gerry” Morris, declined to comment on the allegations. He said his client also didn’t want to discuss them.

The court documents, filed June 27, allege Chavez sexually harassed two other teens during TABC sting operations and solicited sexually explicit photos from one of them in 2007. Prosecutors also allege he had sexual encounters with two other teens while working for the police department in Cuero, in South Texas, in the mid-1990s.

One of the Cuero encounters is described as a sexual assault of a child, while the other is characterized as an “extramarital affair” that included sex while Chavez was on duty as a patrol officer. After the affair ended, the filing alleges, Chavez broke into the girl’s apartment while she was sleeping.

The court filing also describes how Chavez was fired by Cuero police in 1996, after a year on the job, after allegedly causing a vehicle accident while intoxicated.

Witnesses cited in the document could be called to testify if Chavez is convicted and the trial reaches a punishment phase. The Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case because the Bastrop County district attorney recused himself, citing a prior professional relationship with Chavez.

TABC officials said the agency was unaware of any previous allegations of sexual misconduct involving Chavez.

TABC records show Chavez provided the agency with a written statement when he was hired in 2004, explaining he was fired from the Cuero Police Department because of an incident after a benefit softball tournament. He acknowledged backing into a parked vehicle but said it wasn’t alcohol-related.

Cuero’s police chief at the time, Tony Allen, said he never heard allegations of Chavez having sex with teens while working in the town 140 miles southwest of Houston.

Allen said Chavez was fired after being “way drunk” following the softball tournament. He said the incident was memorable because it occurred at an event promoting relations between citizens and police and fire officials. Allen said he never was contacted by anyone with the TABC regarding the incident.

Chavez worked for six years with the Austin school district’s police department before joining the TABC.

TABC administrator Alan Steen said the commission had “zero indicators” Chavez was a sexual predator. He said Chavez was highly recommended by the Austin school district and had other important credentials, including Army service. Those factors outweighed “one stupid stunt,” he said, referring to the Cuero incident.

Sam Walker, an emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha who has studied sexual misconduct by law enforcement officials, said the number of young girls claiming impropriety by Chavez appear to make the case one of the most serious of its kind. That Chavez joined the TABC after being fired elsewhere for drunken behavior “raises some serious questions about the department’s recruiting,” he said.

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The alleged victim in the criminal case has sued the TABC and several of its officials. Her federal lawsuit claims they were aware of Chavez’s history of inappropriate conduct with underage girls and failed to supervise him. Along with damages, she’s asking that the TABC be barred from continuing to recruit minors to aid in underage alcohol purchase stings.The TABC suspended the sting operations for two months after Chavez’s arrest. When the stings were reinstated, it was under a new policy requiring all participating minors to be transported by at least two officers.Carolyn Beck, a TABC spokeswoman, said the agency has no indication of other officers taking advantage of the teens involved in the stings and believes the new policy is sufficient.A plea agreement that would have resulted in Chavez getting a four-year prison sentence for one charge and deferred judgment for another was initially reached, but the Attorney General’s Office later scuttled the deal.The case is the latest controversy for the TABC, which in recent years has come under fire for incidents including a raid at a Fort Worth gay bar and an aggressive program intended to curb public drunkenness through stings in bars.